Recipe Details
Cinnamon French Toast Bake
Photo courtesy of thecookierookie
Recipe Basics
Total Time: 1 hour
Servings: 12
Total Ingredients: 11 (plus optional add-ins)
Ingredients
¼ cup melted butter (or ¼ cup melted margarine)
2 (12 ½ ounce) cans refrigerated cinnamon rolls
6 large eggs
½ cup heavy whipping cream
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup maple syrup, plus ½ cup extra (optional for serving)
Reserved icing (from the cinnamon roll cans)
Powdered sugar (for dusting)
Step-by-Step Instructions
Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C). Pour melted butter into an ungreased 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish.
Separate both cans of cinnamon roll dough into 16 individual rolls, and set the included icing packets aside for later. Cut each roll into 8 small pieces, then spread the cut pieces evenly over the butter in the baking dish.
In a medium mixing bowl, beat the eggs until smooth. Mix in the heavy cream, cinnamon, and vanilla until fully combined, then pour the mixture gently over the cinnamon roll pieces.
Sprinkle chopped pecans evenly over the top, then drizzle 1 cup of maple syrup across the entire dish.
Bake for 20 to 28 minutes, until the top is golden brown and set. Remove from the oven and let the bake cool for 15 minutes.
While the bake cools, prepare the icing: remove packaging from the icing, then microwave on Medium (50% power) for 10 to 15 seconds, until it thins to a drizzling consistency.
Drizzle the melted icing over the top of the cooled bake, then dust with powdered sugar. If desired, drizzle extra syrup from the baking dish over individual servings, and serve with the extra ½ cup of maple syrup on the side.
Reader Note: Many home cooks have pointed out that while this recipe calls for cutting each roll into 8 pieces, the official recipe photo shows whole, uncut rolls straight from the can.
Community Question
A home cook asked the community:
I’d love to prep this recipe the night before and bake it the next morning, so I only have to pop it in the oven on Christmas morning. Has anyone tried making this ahead? What do you think?
Reader Reviews
I made this last weekend for a brunch, and there wasn’t a single bite left over! I only added pecans to half the dish, skipped the extra powdered sugar and topping syrup after baking, and it was still more than sweet enough. I sprayed my pan with nonstick spray just to be extra sure nothing would stick, and it didn’t at all. Sprinkling brown sugar on the bottom of the pan is such a brilliant hack – I’ll definitely do that next time. This is staying on my regular recipe rotation, and I might even make a half batch for my kids for special occasions.
This was absolutely delicious, and so easy to put together. I will absolutely make it again! I used extra-large eggs, so I cut back to 4 eggs instead of 6, and it turned out perfectly. I also cut the rolls into quarters instead of 8 pieces, which left the very center a little too gooey. Next time I’ll stick to the recipe and cut them into 8 pieces. Even with that small misstep, this was a spectacular breakfast. We loved it just as it was and didn’t add any extra maple syrup, since it already had loads of rich French toast flavor straight out of the oven. I picked this as one of my Spring 2011 Pick-A-Chef recipes, and I’m so glad I did! Thanks for sharing.
This looks great, but I don’t see a way to adapt it for make-ahead prep. I took a tip from several other reviewers and sprinkled brown sugar on the bottom of the pan, then followed the recipe pretty closely except I left off the canned icing. I was right that the brown sugar and maple syrup would be more than sweet enough on their own! This makes absolutely amazing French toast, and it’s definitely a keeper recipe. Thanks for sharing! [Made and reviewed for the 2011 Best of Recipe event]
This was such a decadent breakfast that everyone in my family loved. I’ll definitely make it again (though not too often, since it’s pretty high in fat and calories). I agree that adding a sprinkle of brown sugar to the butter on the bottom is a great upgrade. I took another reviewer’s suggestion to only put pecans on half the dish, since my kids don’t like pecans – that worked perfectly. I used homemade cinnamon roll dough for my batch, and I made two mistakes I won’t repeat next time: I let the cinnamon rolls sit in the pan overnight, which made the filling leak out and pool as liquid at the bottom, and I forgot to pack the icing when I brought this on a trip. Even with those mistakes, it turned out great. Thanks for the recipe!
6 additional reviews are available to view
Recipe submitted by nicoleingermantown, Germantown